Naples Golf Cart Accidents
Florida Injury Lawyers Assisting with Golf Cart Accidents in Naples
Golf carts are a popular form of transportation in Southwest Florida, and community members throughout Naples rely on golf carts for recreation and transportation. Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) explains that a golf cart is “a motor vehicle that is designed and manufactured for operation on a golf course for sporting or recreational purposes and that is not capable of exceeding speeds of 20 miles per hour.” While golf carts are designed to be used on golf courses, they can also be operated on Southwest Florida roads that have posted speed limits of 30 miles per hour or less.
Whether a golf cart is being operated on a golf course or a low-speed neighborhood or community road, these motor vehicles can pose serious injury risks when they are involved in single-vehicle or multi-vehicle accidents. It is important to seek advice from a Naples golf cart accidents lawyer about filing a claim.
Getting the Facts About Naples Golf Cart Accidents
Golf cart accidents happen more often than you might think, and they frequently result in serious and sometimes fatal injuries. The following facts and figures from the National Safety Council (NSC) reveal the injury risks associated with these motor vehicles:
- Between 2007-2017, more than 156,000 people were treated in emergency department for injuries caused by golf cart accidents;
- On average, more than 15,000 people require treatment in emergency departments every year as a result of golf cart-related injuries;
- Kids sustain a high rate of golf cart injuries, and they most frequently suffer traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, at a rate of 46 percent higher than older adults;
- Older adults suffer the highest overall injury rate in golf cart accidents, with a rate of about 8.1 per 100,000 people;
- Golf cart injury rates among older adults are rising, and they increased by more than 67 percent between 2007 and 2017;
- Golf cart injuries often are serious due to a lack of safety features like seat belts or doors; and
- Most common golf cart injuries include lacerations, strains, fractures, and TBIs.
Golf Carts May Be Converted to Low Speed Vehicles and Subject to Insurance Claims
According to the FLHSMV, golf carts are one of the most common types of converted low speed vehicles (LSVs) owned and operated in the state, and emphasizes that these are indeed vehicles that can be dangerous. When a golf cart is converted to an LSV, it can pose greater accident and injury risks.
Although most of converted golf carts reach top speeds of 20 to 25 miles per hour, Florida law requires that golf carts converted to LSVs be registered, titled, and insured, and that owners have both personal injury protection (PIP) as they do for any other type of motor vehicle along with property damage liability insurance. In addition, Florida law requires operators of golf carts converted to LSVs to have valid drivers licenses in order to lawfully operate the low speed vehicle. Accordingly, it may be possible to seek compensation through an insurance claim when a golf cart has been converted to an LSV and appropriately registered and insured.
Contact Our Naples Golf Cart Accident Attorneys
If you need help with your golf cart accident claim, one of our Naples golf cart accident lawyers can assist you. Contact Cardinal Law, P.A. today.
